


what you are in the dark

by Squiped_Mew



Series: The Tales of Team OMEN (in anachronic order) [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Cave-In, F/M, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Illustrations, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Making Up, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Missing Scene, Oscar Pine Needs a Hug, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ruby Rose Needs a Hug, Secret Identity, Self-Hatred, Team Up, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, You don’t need to read the rest of the series to get this, a little bit, breakdowns, but it’s recommended, i mean its p obvious its oscar and ruby knows its him too she just doesnt want to admit it, kinda???, omen au, they need to hug each other tbh, villain AU, working together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:26:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26844352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squiped_Mew/pseuds/Squiped_Mew
Summary: The entrance to the cave had been… well, caved in. Recalling the fight she had with the masked boy, and how he had deliberately fired a bolt of fire towards an exposed vein of dust in the wall. How he had pulled her down from the ship into the woods.Blake was right. He didn’t feel like a stranger. This felt… oddly personal.(OR: Ruby is forced to work together with Salem's mysterious masked henchman, and starts to realize he may not be as unfamiliar to her as she thinks.)
Relationships: Oscar Pine & Ruby Rose, Oscar Pine & Salem, Ruby Rose & Team JNPR, Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long
Series: The Tales of Team OMEN (in anachronic order) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938709
Kudos: 46





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/

“Uuuugh…” 

  
  


Head ringing, Ruby looked up, pushing herself out of the rubble. Distinctly, in the back of her mind, she could feel her ribs screaming out in pain, but she ignored that. Wobbling to her feet, she stumbled forward, pressing her hand against the rocks in front of her. 

The entrance to the cave had been… well, caved in. Recalling the fight she had with the masked boy, and how he had deliberately fired a bolt of fire towards an exposed vein of dust in the wall. How he had pulled her down from the ship into the woods. 

(Blake was right. He didn’t feel like a stranger. This felt… oddly personal.)

A glint of red caught her eye in the dim cave light, and she turned to see a red sword laying on the ground, covered in rubble, but otherwise unharmed. It was that boy’s sword, the rapier he had pulled out so many times. It was smaller than she remembered up close. 

“RUBY!!” Ruby suddenly turned, hearing voices crying out from the other side of the rubble. Sure enough, it was Yang. 

“Yang!” She cried back out, pushing the rocks in front of her, to no avail. 

“Ruby!” Rushing footsteps. “Are you okay?!” That was Weiss now. 

“I’m fine.”  _ No, she wasn’t, her ribs were probably broken.  _ “Listen, you guys need to catch up to Watts’s ship!”

“No!” Jaune cried out. “Ruby, we’re not leaving you down here!”

“I’ll be fine!” Ruby yelled back. “This looks like it’s a Dust mine of some sort, there’s gotta be another exit around here somewhere.”

“But-”

“GO!!” Ruby screamed. “You can’t let Salem get her hands on the location of the Beacon relic! Go!”

“But Ruby, you’re-”

“ _ NOW _ !!”

There was a distinct pause, before she heard footsteps echoing away. “Promise us you’ll come back safe, kiddo.” Qrow said, and there was a distinct cracking in his tone. Ruby blinked back the lump in her throat. 

“I will.”

  
  
  


She stayed by the wreckage for a long time, longer than she needed to, probably, letting their footsteps fade away. The pain in her ribs was becoming more and more acute by the second, and she slid down to her knees, letting a few tears slip out. 

_ Breathe in, _

Smoke and dust clogged her lungs.

_ Breathe out. _

  
  


Ruby exhaled. 

  
  
  
  
  


There was a rumbling sound. 

  
  


Ruby whipped around to see some of the rubble shifting, and someone else come crawling out, bit by bit, fingers clawing at the dirt.

  
  


It was the masked boy. 

  
  


Ruby quickly picked up his sword, sheathing it and shoving on her belt, pulling out her sythe. Granted, there probably wasn’t much ammo left, and she had no aura, but he was also unarmed. Ruby noted the unsteady way in which he crawled, the sharp cracks in his ivory white mask. 

He stood, slowly, beginning to make his way towards her. Ruby tensed, preparing for a fight -

  
  


-Only to have him brush right past her. 

  
  


Ruby stopped, blinking.

He put his gloved hand on the rocks, pushing weakly against it. Ruby noted the way his left arm hung limply at his side, twisted in an angle it probably shouldn’t be in.

_ But that didn’t make any sense. His aura would have at least somewhat come back by now - it should at least be setting his arm back to normal.  _

  
  


“It’s blocked.” She muttered, against her better judgement. 

The masked boy stopped. Turned towards her. 

“Come again.” His voice was robotic, the mask muffling any trace of recognizability and humanity in it. Ruby couldn’t tell if that was what he sounded like, or if the mask was distorting his voice somehow. 

“It’s… blocked.” Ruby gritted out. “And we’re in a Dust mine - if you try and blow through it, you’ll just cause another explosion.” 

“...I figured just as much.” He said, turning on his heel and limping down the dark cave. 

“Where are you going?” Ruby asked despite herself, cursing how weak she sounded. 

“To find an exit.” He replied flatly. 

Ruby looked him up and down, scanning his beaten and bruised form. “You won’t survive down here like that.” She managed to reply.

He stopped. 

Turned around.

“Why do you care?” And that was the first sign of emotion - something resembling bitterness. Something personal. 

  
  


Ruby wondered if she had seen this boy before. 

  
  


“...I…” And truth be told, she couldn’t find a reason why she was protesting for this kid not to run off and die in the mines alone. He had tried to kill her, after all. And he was with Salem. He probably was involved in some of the other horrible things she had caused as well. 

But…

He looked so young.

Maybe even younger than her.

  
  


Was this pity?

Or something else?

  
“...Look.” Ruby started. “Neither of us are gonna survive this place if we go alone. Sooner or later, some Grimm will show up.”

“...They won’t bother me.” The masked boy replied quietly.

“Well, you’ve got no guarantee. And even if they won’t, there’s also cave ins, or getting lost, or starving to death, and infection.” Ruby took a step towards him, lowering her weapon. “And neither of us are going to be able to survive on our own.”

  
  


“...Are you suggesting I… go with you?” The boy asked, incredulous.

“Well - kind of?” Ruby admitted, backtracking. “I just - it’d make sense, don’t you think?”

“I tried to kill you.” The boy said flatly.

“Yeah, but -”

“And not to mention that you haven’t exactly proven yourself the most trustworthy person.”

“I  _ know _ , but-”

“ _ Just _ -” And there was definitely something there in his voice, something Ruby knew. “You expect me to go with you, after all of this?”

“...I’m the only person you’ve got.” Ruby mumbled quietly. 

A beat. 

  
  
  


Then, the boy exhaled. “If we go down this tunnel, there’s a good chance we’ll get to the center chamber of this place soon.” He said, limping forward. “Follow me.”

Ruby took that as a silent admission of defeat, and followed after him. 

  
  
  
  
  


* * *

They were only a few minutes in when all of the light from the ruined entrance had faded, nothing left but the faint glow of the Dust crystals in the wall. 

“I got it.” Ruby loaded in her fire Dust cartridge, flames burning to life on top of her scythe, but another burning light behind her made her stop in her tracks. 

The boy held a ball of fire in his palm, about the size of his face. When he noticed her staring, he closed his fist, extinguishing the flame.

The only other person she had seen that could do that was -

“Was that magic?” Ruby quietly asked, flicking the flame back onto her scythe. 

The boy didn’t answer. 

“It was, wasn’t it.” She continued. “You used another power to sense us when we were in the ambush in the woods - so it can’t be your Semblance.”

Still silent. 

Ruby looked over her shoulder at the boy quietly following her. “Are you a Maiden?” She asked suspiciously.

Silence. 

“Something like that.” He finally replied. “It’s none of your business.”

She remembered his cracked mask on the battlefield - how she had seen a flash of inhuman red light underneath. 

“...So if you’re not a Maiden,” Ruby started. “Then how can you use magic -”

“Quiet.” 

Ruby went silent. The masked boy held out his palm to stop them, looking from side to side. “Do you hear that?”

  
  


Ruby strained her ears to listen. 

  
  


Faint footsteps. 

No, not feet. Hooves. 

  
  


“We should keep moving.” Ruby said after a minute.

The boy didn’t answer, but followed. 

  
  
  


* * *

They ended up dropping the conversation.   
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


Ruby wasn’t sure how long it was before she finally said something again. “Are you familiar with this mine?” She asked, noting how he had mentioned a central chamber in it.

“Somewhat.” He replied, shrugging. “I saw the layout in some blueprints.” 

Go figure Salem would have blueprints of the whole surrounding area. Ruby wondered briefly how she got them, then decided against it. “Do you think we’re getting close?” She asked. 

He simply shrugged.

“...Well do you know how big this place is?”

He shrugged again.

“...Not much of a talker, huh?” Ruby mumbled sarcastically. 

  
  


And so, they kept walking in dead silence. 

  
  


Only until the passage began to get increasingly smaller did the boy speak again. “Unless we blast through here, we’re not going to be able to fit.” He said.

“...We could risk it?” Ruby asked. “I mean, this seems like a dead end. Blasting through might be our only option.”

The boy put his hand on the wall, and fell silent. Ruby stared at him, feeling a bit awkward.

“What are you -” The boy raised a finger to his lips (or where they would be if he wasn’t wearing a mask) and Ruby fell silent.

“The passage opens up just ahead.” He said finally, taking his hand off the wall. “We might be able to blast through.”

“Oh.” Ignoring his strange ability to sense what was beyond the wall, Ruby simply nodded, taking out her sythe. “You want me to do it, or -”

“Your bullets won’t do any good.” He replied. “Let me.” And the palm of his hand crackled to life, blazing a shade of deep crimson red. With one smooth motion, the boy sent the ball of energy hurtling towards the crack in the wall -

  
  


-And Ruby saw the veins of Dust in it too late.

  
  


“WATCH OU-”

  
  
  


An explosion of water gushed out from the crack, cascading down the tunnel. Ruby scrambled back, resheathing her scythe, as the currents tripped up her feet and dragged her under. For a few terrifying seconds, she was flailing underwater, not knowing which way was up. Quickly, she regained her footing, as the Dust crystals underwater illuminated the tunnel. She swam towards the crack, but was pushed back by the currents. Options exhausted, she swam towards the rapidly shrinking surface.

“The current’s too strong!” She shouted, when she saw the boy’s face breach the murky depths. 

“What do we do?” He sputtered, cold exterior shedded for panic. 

“I -” Then, she got an idea. “Can you use that energy beam underwater?”

“I -” A wave of water splashed over them, and Ruby flailed, swimming up. “I - I can -” he coughed. “But I -”

“ _Do it!_ ”

“I don’t know what -”

“We’re going to drown if you don’t!” 

“...Fine!” Grabbing her arm, the boy yanked her underwater, until they were parallel to the hole that they had created. Once again, the boy’s palm crackled to life, light dancing across the underwater walls of the cave. Ruby only caught a glimpse of red under his mask before they were jetted forward, through the hole, and into the cave below.

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


“You’re gonna catch a cold if you keep that on.”

“...No I won’t.” 

It was a little after the flood. The two of them had washed up on the shore of the cave, coughing and sputtering for air. Quickly realizing that the currents had blasted away what little aura she had, and her clothes were freezing cold and sopping wet, a bad combo, they had decided to stop for now, and build a fire to dry off. Ruby had taken her cape, gloves and corset off, leaving them in a neat pile by the fire. A while ago, she might have felt a bit embarrassed at that, but she had kind of lost any dignity she had in this scenario anyways. 

The boy, however, hadn’t taken anything off. His red overcoat, which clung to his skinny arms, was absolutely sopping wet, and he shivered with every breath he took. He had even kept the mask on, despite how obviously uncomfortable he was. 

“Keeping on wet clothes is a recipe for hypothermia.” Ruby remarked. 

“...I’ll survive.” He mumbled. 

“...I’m not so sure you-” Ruby was cut off by a quiet sneeze. She paused. “...I’m not so-” And then another.

“...My apologies.” The boy muttered, and despite how morbid the situation was, Ruby couldn’t help but giggle. 

“You sneeze like a kitten.” She remarked. 

“I do not.” If she could see the masked boy’s face, she was sure he’d looked offended. “I’m just cold.”

“Then take the wet jacket off!”

“I’m not going to strip in front of someone I tried to kill, that’s improper.” 

“Don’t make this weird, and you saved me, so we're even. You could have just left me in that cave.”

“I have half a mind to, thinking back.”

“Well -” And a sudden pang of nostalgia swept over Ruby, flashing back to how she and Weiss used to bicker, and her protest died mid-sentence. “...Thank you.” She decided to say. 

“...Excuse me?” The boy asked. 

“For saving me.” She explained. “You didn’t have to.”

“...Don’t take it personally.” The boy replied, tone melting back into the robotic voice he had been using before. “I need you alive for my own survival.” 

“...Right.” She had almost forgotten, for a minute, that this boy was an enemy. A much more cordial one, but one nonetheless. “...Cool. Get some sleep. And take your wet socks off, at least. The feet and neck are the most important parts to keep warm.”

“Noted.”

There was a pause.

  
  


“Good night.” Ruby laid down on the very hard and uncomfortable ground, and tried not to think about who this boy reminded her of.

It didn’t matter. 

Really.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and so it begins.
> 
> Comments are appreciated!
> 
> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Fair.” Ruby hauled the minecart up, turning it back upright. “Give me a hand with this?”
> 
> The masked boy looked at the minecart, and then back up at her. “I only have one working arm.” He said curtly, pointing to his still-twisted arm.
> 
> “Your aura should have set that by now.” Ruby remarked, thinking about how the stinging in her ribs had died down quite a bit by now. 
> 
> “...It seems it didn’t.” He replied, before stepping over the rubble to help Ruby push the minecart back on the tracks. 
> 
> (Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen his aura flicker once during their fight.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ruby: hmm, i wonder who this mysterious masked boy is
> 
> also ruby: its oscar you dumbass
> 
> ruby: gee i have no idea
> 
> oscar in the backround: having a crisis
> 
> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/

_ “Take this.” _

_ The cane is shoved roughly into her hands.  _

_ “Give it to the next reincarnation. I’ll be waiting until then.” _

_ “What?” What is he asking of her? She can’t just leave him. “Hang on, you can’t-” _

_ “You’ll never make it to Atlas like that - and the Grimm have been targeting me this whole time, haven’t you noticed? If they go after me, the ship will be able to get away.” _

_ No. “No! I’m not letting you do this-” _

  
  


_ Arms wrap around her, in some cold imitation of a hug. “I’m sorry.” He says _

_ She blinks. “It’s okay, we can figure this out-” _

_ “No.” And his tone goes from sad, to cold and deliberate. “ _ **_I’m sorry_ ** _.” _

  
  


_ It’s when she’s dragged back to the ship by an unseen force that she realizes he hooked half of the gravity cuff around her wrist, the other half tied to the chair in the ship. _

_ She screams as the doors close.  _

_ He smiles back at her.  _

_ Like someone walking to the gallows - _

**_“Why did you leave me behind?”_ **

  
  
  
  


* * *

Ruby woke up gasping for breath, clutching at her undershirt, silver eyes darting around the darkness frantically, as if looking for a fight. Then, she remembered where she was. The cave in. Watts making off with a clue to the location of the Beacon Relic - 

And him.

  
  


Ruby looked over her shoulder, to see, sure enough, that the masked boy was still there, lying asleep on the ground, so still he looked almost like a corpse. “Hey,” She whispered, shaking his shoulder. “Get up.”

He mumbled a string of incoherent words before rolling the other way. “...Five mor’ minutes…” He slurred. 

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Get  _ up _ !” And with that final hard shove, the boy shot up, scrambling back, hands going to the empty and broken sheath on his belt. “It’s me!” She yelled, trying to calm him down. “It’s just me!”

He stilled. 

“...You’re still here.” He muttered, voice shaking.

“...Yeah.” She wasn’t going to pretend like she hadn’t thought he would leave in the middle of the night either. “I am.”

  
  


A beat.

  
  


“We should move.” The masked boy said, pulling himself up, voice back to flat calm, with only a hint of uncertainty under it. 

“...Yeah.” Ruby pulled herself up as well, fastening her corset and cape back onto herself. “What’s the plan?”

“...We keep going down, I guess.” He replied, turning on his heel. 

It seemed the night before hadn’t robbed him of his curtness. 

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  


The cave was just as dark and miserable as it was yesterday, but what was even worse, is that they seemed to be going deeper, and the veins of dust in the wall only seemed to increase, highteing the risk of them just being in there.

“This place smells like sulfur.” Ruby said after an immeasurably long silence. “You think this place was a fire Dust mine?”

“It seems that way.” The masked boy replied. “That and ice Dust.”

“So when they blow up together, it creates a huge torrent of water.” Ruby finished, remembering the lecture Weiss had given her on the various applications of dust. “Which was what that flood was yesterday.”

The masked boy nodded, still not turning around.

  
  
  


Turning the corner, a glint of silver caught Ruby’s eye. “Hey, look!” She said, gesturing for the masked boy to follow her. 

Sure enough, in the corner of the corridor, was a minecart, thrown to the side. Next to it glinted some silver rails, tunneling through a dark passage in the wall. “We could try and get through using this.”

“But it seems to go deeper.” He remarked. “Not to mention there’s less light down that way, and you could run out of fire Dust soon.”

“I mean, there’s that stuff all around us.” 

“Purified Dust.”

“Fair.” Ruby hauled the minecart up, turning it back upright. “Give me a hand with this?”

The masked boy looked at the minecart, and then back up at her. “I only have one working arm.” He said curtly, pointing to his still-twisted arm.

“Your aura should have set that by now.” Ruby remarked, thinking about how the stinging in her ribs had died down quite a bit by now. 

“...It seems it didn’t.” He replied, before stepping over the rubble to help Ruby push the minecart back on the tracks. 

  
  


(Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen his aura flicker once during their fight.)

  
  


“There.” Ruby said, wiping her dusty hands on her skirt, which was already caked with mud and filth anyways. “Climb in.”

It was a bit of a tight squeeze, since the minecart seemed to have only been made for one person, but they were both pretty small, so they managed. Once they were safely in, Ruby whipped out Crescent Rose, and switched to gravity Dust.

“This looks like it goes downhill.” She remarked. “So hopefully I won’t have to use too much of this stuff.”

“Just  _ go  _ already.” Rolling her eyes, Ruby fired, and the purple blast sent the minecart spiraling forward into the darkness below. 

  
  
  
  


* * *

“Hey.”

“Huh?” 

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“What?”

“I said -” Ruby somewhat yelled over the wind whipping past her hair. The tunnel was long and narrow, but thankfully there weren’t any uphill tracks, else they might have been in trouble. “I wanted to ask you something!”

There was a pause, the only sound being the air rushing past them.

“Did you hear me?!”

“I heard you!” The masked boy yelled back. “I’m just not answering!” Ruby had to admire how he still tried to sound cold and stoic even while yelling. 

“...It’s not a weird question!”

“That’s what they all say!” Ruby cocked an eyebrow at that, but decided to ignore that comment. 

“...Why do you wear that mask?!” Ruby yelled. 

“None of your business!” He yelled back. 

“It kind of is!”

“No it’s not, you don’t know me!” Under his breath, Ruby could have sworn he heard him mutter something about how nosy she was, and decided not to press the subject. 

“How much further do you think this goes?” Ruby asked, changing the subject.

The masked boy shrugged. “It could go on forever, as far as I’m concerned!”

“Don’t talk like that, you’re the one who knows the layout of this mine-”

Ruby was interrupted by the cart abruptly dropping off, pitching them out of the tunnel and into an open chamber below. Ruby almost screamed, but instinctively activated her Semblence, grabbing the masked boy’s non-broken arm, and activating Petal Burst, shooting the two of them safely down. Ruby skidded to a stop as soon as the ground came into view, catching the falling boy through the rose petals. 

Neither of them spoke for a solid second, the boy just staring at her like he’d seen a ghost.

Then, wordlessly, he pushed himself out of her arms, stumbling onto the ground below. 

“A ‘you’re welcome’ would be nice.” Ruby remarked, only half-joking. As usual, he ignored her, and Ruby tried to ignore the strange turning in her stomach. 

  
  


_ “I’ve just… never met a Huntress before.” _

  
  


Ruby mentally slapped herself back to the present. Why was she thinking about  _ him _ now? 

_ Aren’t they similar? _

Ruby shook her head, trying to block out the voice in her head that screamed that she knew him, that she wanted him, and that she had left him behind a long time ago.

  
  


“Where are we?” Ruby switched her scythe back to fire Dust, lighting up the chamber. Holes dotted the walls, being entrances to other tunnels. A broken minecart track sat suspended above them, chunks of the rotted wood tracks having fallen to the floor.

“The central chamber.” The masked boy replied. “Looks like your hunch was right after all.”

“Huh.” Turning, Ruby looked for some kind of indication that there was an exit. “You see an exit sign anywhere?”

“No.” But then something caught her eye. A half rotted sign of wood, lying under some of the rubble, still staked into the ground. Running over, Ruby pulled it out of the dirt, squinting to read the inscription in the darkness of the cave.

“Check this out.” Ruby held the sign up to the boy. “I can’t read this, but maybe that way’s an exit?”

“Hmm.” Studying the sign, the boy turned it over in his hand, before walking up to the tunnel it was in front of, placing his palm on the wall. The two of them fell silent, as he presumably did what he did back in the small tunnels. 

“It does open up further in.” He said after a while. “But that’s no guarantee that the open area is an exit.”

“It’s the best chance we’ve got right now.” Ruby rebutted. “I say we take it.”

“True.” Ruby was positive that if his face was visible, that his face would have been scrunched up in thought. “...Fine. We’ll go this way.”

“Cool.” The two of them slipped into the dark tunnel, and neither of them heard the slight rumbling behind them.

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  


“I’m out.”

It had been a few hours (Days? Weeks? Months?) since they had gone into the tunnel. It was mostly an uphill climb, which was promising, but just then, Crescent Rose had run out of fire Dust, flame on top of it sputtering away. “Can you do that fire thing?”

“That takes up energy.” He replied. “And as you can see, I’m not exactly full of it right now.”

“Damn.” Ruby swore, feeling around the room. “Hey, look for some wood. Maybe we can light it and use it as a torch.”

The two of them kept climbing up, hands following the wall as support, fingers brushing over hard lines of dust. Ruby was sure her pupils were probably the size of dinner plates by how dark it was.

“Hey.” She said after a minute. “Can I ask you something?”

“...You seem to be full of questions.” The masked boy replied sarcastically, but didn’t object.

“...Why are you with Salem?”

He stopped walking, freezing in place right in front of her.

“...” Wordlessly, he picked up the pace, not looking at her.

“Because… I know everyone else's reasons. Cinder wants power-”

He didn’t look back at her. 

“Emerald and Mercury are following her-”

Still no reaction.

“Tyrian’s just a psycho I guess -”

Not even a flinch. 

“Pietro told me that Watts hates Ironwood because he rejected him or something?”

Stone.

“Hazel wants Ozpin dead because of what happened to his sister,”

(Ruby almost missed it, but there was a slight flinch there.)

“And Salem is just… Salem. But you?” Ruby said, picking up the pace until she was closer to the masked boy again, voice steeling. “I don’t know what you want.”

A pause. Neither of them spoke for a while.

“What difference does it make?” He said finally, voice quiet.

“...I don’t know.” Truthfully, there wasn’t much. No matter what reasons Cinder, or Hazel, or Watts came up with, they were still her enemies. And yet- “I’m just curious.”

And yet.

Those seemed to be the key words of this whole ordeal. 

  
  


“...Survival.” 

His answer was so inaudible, Ruby almost missed it. 

“Huh?”

“Survival.” He muttered, a bit louder this time.

“...Survival?” The word felt strange on her tongue. “...Are you being…  _ forced  _ into doing this -”

“Of  _ course not _ .” And his reaction was so quick it caught Ruby off guard, him whirling around to face her. “And even if I was, you have no reason to care about an enemy. You never have before!”

“I-”

“I. Don’t. Want. Your pity, Ruby Rose, or your words. Gods  _ know  _ I don’t deserve it.” With that, he whirled around again, stalking forward until they were a good distance apart. 

  
  
  


(She was certain she hadn’t imagined the red glint under his mask this time. But she did miss the droplets of black oil on the floor. )

  
  
  
  


* * *

“Hey.” 

It had been a while, where they had walked in the dark silence between them. 

“I found wood.” The masked boy paused, turning around. “On the wall - I think it’s a barricade of some sort.”

“...Let me.” Together, the two of them ripped off a plank of wood, the rest of it falling apart beneath then. A torrent of bats flew past the two of them, and Ruby stumbled back, only to have a firm hand grab her wrist and pull her back up.

“...Be careful.” The masked boy said, letting go of her hand. 

“...Yeah.” Once again ignoring the turning in her stomach, Ruby picked up a plank of wood. “Here. We can probably use this.” The masked boy set his palm ablaze once again, lighting the wood on fire, burning an unnatural shade of red. Ruby blinked a few times, eyes adjusting to the sudden light. “The wood was blocking this tunnel.” Ruby remarked, turning towards the dark hole in the stone.

“So?”

“It might be a shortcut.” Ruby said.

“Or it could just lead us further down, this is a waste of time.” The masked boy rebutted placing his hand on the wall while rolling his eyes. “One would think that you never even learned how mines -” He froze in place, palm sparking on the wall. 

“...What is it?” Ruby asked. 

“...There’s an open space.” He said, his voice filled with disbelief. “A  _ huge _ open space.”

“Is it the outside?” Ruby asked excitedly. 

“No, not this far down. It’s… it’s something else.” Taking his palm off the wall, the masked boy tore down the remaining pieces of wood, opening the tunnel up. “We should go check.”

“That was a fast turnaround.” Ruby remarked, feeling a bit smug as they ducked inside.

The masked boy chose not to respond.

  
  


After what felt like ages, Ruby could hear a faint dripping, and the roof of the tunnel began to raise. “We must be getting close.” She remarked. In the dim red glow of their makeshift torch, she could barely make out the masked boy nod. They picked up the pace, feeling the tunnel slop down, until -

  
  
  


The roof shot up. Ruby noted the glowing stones above her, and was so transfixed, she almost didn’t see what was in front of her. 

It was a city.

A huge, stone city.

A huge, broken down, abandoned stone city.

“What…” Ruby breathed. “What is this?”

“I...I don’t know.” The masked boy sounded truly at a loss for words. “Something like this shouldn’t be in a Dust mine.”

“Yeah.” Ruby stopped forward, running her hands over the dusty and ruined architecture. Whatever this place was, it hadn’t been used in a long time. “I wonder who lived here?”

“Dead people.” Rolling her eyes at the masked boy’s curt comment, Ruby turned into the cobblestone streets, drinking in the eerie sight. “It might not be safe to go in there.” The masked boy pointed out.

“No one’s been here for a long time.” Ruby pointed out. “I think we’re okay.”

“...” Uneasy, the masked boy followed closely after her. Under different circumstances, Ruby might have found his trepidation a bit endearing, but she couldn’t blame him for being a bit put off. A city like this, and with no one around but someone who’s tried to kill you was a bit… unnerving. 

“Look.” Ruby turned to see a steady stream of water flowing down the side of the cave, a makeshift river being formed by the steadily moving rapids. “Fresh water.”

“Thank goodness.” Ruby stooped down to drink, but stopped when she saw that the masked boy wasn’t doing what she was doing. “...This isn’t poisoned, is it?” She asked cautiously. 

“Don’t be stupid, if I wanted you dead, I’d certainly do it in a better fashion then dirty water.” Ruby snickered at that rather morbid comment. “I’m just waiting for you to be done.”

“But -” Then, it dawned on her. “Oh, you have to take your mask off.” The masked boy looked away, almost… embarrassed? “I don’t care, it’s fine.”

“But I do. So leave when you’re done.” Rolling her eyes, Ruby stood up, walking the other way, but stopping once she saw him bend down, undoing the mask's leather straps. 

Without it, his scraggly white hair swept gracefully down, and Ruby caught a flash of olive skin. Looking down, she saw that the inside of the mask was stained black. 

“...What’s that black stuff?” Ruby asked, pointing at the mask, only to have water flicked at her in return. “Okay, okay, I’m going!”

  
  
  


Olive skin. 

(Green and gold eyes.)

  
  
  


~~_ You’re not stupid. You know who he is. _ ~~

  
  
  


* * *

“Did I not specifically tell you to go away?” The masked boy remarked when they started walking again, sounding peeved off. 

“I got curious, sue me.” Ruby said, doing a perfect imitation of his shrug, which earned her a (presumably) annoyed look.    
  


“I should have flicked more water at you, that obviously didn’t do the trick.”

“What, like a cat?” Ruby laughed, thinking about how people sprayed their cats with water bottles when they were being bad. “I have half a mind to-”

She stopped. 

“What is it?” The masked boy asked, before freezing in his tracks as well. 

  
  
  


A ruined statue sat before them, figures weathered away with age. But the face was unmistakable. 

  
  


_ “The two amassed quite a following.” Jinn had told her, Salem and her king’s face blowing into stone through the blue mist that haunted her whenever she slept. _

  
  


Ruby looked away from the stone Ozma’s eyes. She was so unnerved, she didn’t see how the masked boy flinched away as well. 

“...We should find somewhere to sleep.” She mumbled. 

“Yes.” The masked boy finally said.

  
  
  
  


* * *

“This must have been an old settlement.”

In front of the fire that they had set up inside the ruins of some ancient temple, Ruby said the first words either of them had spoken in a while. ‘One of Salem's.”   
  


“So it is.” He replied. 

A pause.

  
  


“You know about that?” Ruby asked quietly.

“I know a lot of things.”

It made sense Salem would keep her followers informed. But still - she didn’t think they knew this part. 

  
  


There was another pause, one in which Ruby munched on a stale slice of beef jerky she kept in her bag.

  
  


“I’m going to sleep.” The masked boy said, rolling onto his side. “Goodnight.”

“...Goodnight.” Ruby replied, doing the same. 

  
  
She couldn't sleep.  
  


And yet.

She did.

* * *

_ A hand was at her throat. _

**_“You left me.”_ **

_ A hand was at her back.  _

**_“You didn’t try to stop me.”_ **

_ A hand was in her hair, grasping, pulling, black dripping from his gaping maw. _

**_“Why did you leave me behind?”_ ** _ Oscar cried.  _

  
  
  
  


* * *

Ruby woke up once again in a cold sweat, grasping at the edges of her cape that she was using as a blanket. The temple was dark, and the masked boy lay beside her, still asleep by the embers of the dying fire. 

_ It was just a dream. _ She told herself.  _ That’s all it was. _

  
  
  


Ruby was aware that she could unmask the boy now that he was asleep, put to rest the chaotic thoughts inside her. She could do it right now, and he’d never be the wiser.

  
  


But, as she reached forward to do so, the sensation of pressure at her throat, of oil dripping down her face, came back to her.

  
  


She breathed in.

_ One second. _

_ Two seconds. _

And out.

  
  
  


“...It was just a dream.” She mumbled, laying back down to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re up.” The masked boy said, pushing himself off the floor. 
> 
> “...I thought you were asleep.” Ruby muttered. 
> 
> “I just like laying on the floor.” They both stood. “We should move.” He said after a minute of silence. 
> 
> “Right.” Ruby could feel the tension between the two, and she swallowed. Had he seen how she had almost unmasked him while he was asleep? Or was there something else?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: content warnings for panic attacks, ptsd, and self hatred.
> 
> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/

Ruby woke up with a cramp in her back and a knot in her stomach. The cold floor of the stone temple only seemed to have gotten colder while they slept, and slowly, she pushed herself up, inhaling the smoky air from what remained of the fire. The masked boy was still there, for some reason. Ruby flashed back to last night, where he had confessed that he knew about the origins of Salem. Could there be more to it? Something she didn’t know?

No, that was stupid. Jinn would shown her. She was just thinking in circles. 

“You’re up.” The masked boy said, pushing himself off the floor. 

“...I thought you were asleep.” Ruby muttered. 

“I just like laying on the floor.” They both stood. “We should move.” He said after a minute of silence. 

“Right.” Ruby could feel the tension between the two, and she swallowed. Had he seen how she had almost unmasked him while he was asleep? Or was there something else?

  
  


The two of them crept quietly out of the temple and back through the ruined city, neither looking at the ruined statues of Ozma and Salem. As they kept walking, Ruby couldn’t help but wonder why he wasn’t looking either. Did it make him nervous? Sad?

Did he feel anything?

  
  


The knowledge that she knew nothing about the boy in front of her crashed into Ruby like a tidal wave, and she stopped. 

“What are you doing?” The masked boy asked. ‘We need to move.”

“Sorry - I just -”

* * *

  
  


Thinking back on it, Ruby wasn’t quite sure why she had started crying, if only a tiny bit.

And yet. There she was.

* * *

  
  
  
  


After taking some of the wooden planks from the ruined barricade, and strapping it onto the masked boy’s back for backup torch fodder, the two of them set back down the tunnel, the only light being from the dim flame of the torch, and the eerie glow of the dust crystals. Ruby wanted to say something, but couldn’t really think of anything to say. 

“...Can I ask you something?” She finally said. 

The masked boy looked back over his shoulder, and even with the mask on, Ruby could tell he was giving her a look. “What is with you and the stupid questions?” He retorted. 

“Sorry, I’m just… kinda bored.” Ruby admitted. 

They kept on in silence. 

“Well,” The masked boy started. “If you’re going to ask me stuff, you might as well get it out now.”

Ruby looked up. “Wait, seriously?” She exclaimed. 

“If you’ll stop pestering me after this, then yeah.” 

“Cool.” Ruby frowned, trying to think of a question to ask him. “...Where are you from?” 

“...Evernight.” He replied curtly. 

“No, before that.”

“There _is_ no before that.”

“Wait,” Ruby started. “So you were just… raised there?”

A pause.

“From what I can remember, yes.” He replied. “Next question.”

Okay, ignoring that vague answer. “Do you have any parents?” 

“No.”

“What’s your favorite food?”

“...Garlic bread.”

“Garlic bread?” Ruby barked a laugh. “Really?”

“It’s good!” The masked boy shot back, crossing his arms, embarrassed. “What’s your favorite food, cookies or something?”

“Yeah, actually, it is!” 

“...Go figure. Next question.” 

“Okay.” Ruby tried to think of something a little less personal and prying. “Uhh… favorite color?”

“Orange.”

“You’re not wearing any orange.”

“It stands out too much.”

“And blood red doesn’t?” 

“Look who’s talking.”

“Do you have any music you like?”

“No.”

“How about shows?”

“No.”

“Man, you’re boring.”

“Thanks.” The masked boy said dryly, but there was a bit of a smile in his voice. “I try to be.”

“...What’s your favorite place?” Ruby asked. 

“Favorite place?” 

“Yeah! Like a place that when you go always makes you happy and stuff. Mine is -” Ruby paused. “Well, mine _was_ the Beacon gardens. But they’re gone now, so…” Yikes, this conversation had gotten depressing real quick. “Uh, moving on -”

“Outside.”

Ruby looked up. “What?”

“Outside. With trees.” He looked down at the ground, voice filled with melancholy. “That’s my favorite place.”

“...Are there any trees at Evernight?”

“No.”

“Huh.” It was the land of the dead and the Grimm - that made sense there wouldn’t be any living things there. “That sucks.” 

“There’s still plenty of things to climb, so I manage.” He replied, brushing her pity off. “Next question.”

“Um…” And before she could really think about it, a question slipped from her lips. 

  
  


“Are you okay?”

  
  


The masked boy stopped, freezing in front of her. 

  
  


“What?” He asked, tone deathly quiet. 

“I mean -” Well, it was too late to back out of this conversation now. “You just… seem kind of sad.”

“Sad.” And all of the life in his voice seeped out once again. “Did I not specifically tell you that I don’t want your pity?”

“I know, I just -” Ruby took a step back, and the masked boy took a step forward, red torch casting his mask in an unearthly glow. 

“I am _fine_ . I don’t _feel_ like you do. I don’t _think_ like you do, and I _certainly_ don’t think you’d understand. You’re human.”

“And you're _not?!"_ Ruby burst out, fists at her sides. 

  
  
  


A pause.

  
  
  


“...I-” The masked boy was cut off by a distinct rumbling noise, followed by the galloping of hooves. “Do you hear that -?”

  
  


And the wall burst open, a torrent of black rushing out. Ruby jumped, activating Petal Burst to get above the herd of -

“Centerions!” She shouted over the galloping Grimm. “I learned about them in class!”

“You -” The masked boy shoved a Centurion out of the way. “You took a class on these things?”

“Well, not these ones in specific -” But just as the Grimm had all galloped away-

  
  


Ruby realized they were moving as if they were running from something.

  
  
  


“GET BACK!” And the two of them leaped back at the wall burst open, revealing a disgusting, disfigured Grimm. He looked somewhat like an unearthly cross between a lizard and a bear, claws dripping with steaming green gunk. His five eyes all swiveled in different directions, before all locking onto the two of them.

  
  


“A Cerberarn.” The masked boy breathed. “I didn’t know they were still alive.” 

Red eyes locked onto her, and Ruby felt herself freeze, scythe useless in her shaking hands. The Grimm swiped his paws to blast her out of the way -

  
  


“DUCK!!”

  
  


And the masked boy tackled her, knocking her out of the way of the Grimm’s deadly claws. “Snap out of it!” He yelled. 

Ruby blinked. “I-” She had faced so much worse than this thing - the Nuckleeve, Beacon, Salem -

But she felt so powerless. So _scared_ -

“It induces fear!” The masked boy yelled. “Don’t look into its eyes!”

_We’re going to die down here._

_We’re going to die down here._

_We’re going to -_

  
  
  


Ruby blinked, suddenly back in the present. She watched as the masked boy dove out of the way again, dodging its claws. Her hands, still shaking lifted her scythe, to fire at it. 

  
  


**_Gaping maw of black_ **

**_“Why did you leave me behind?”_ **

  
  
  


She knows that this isn’t her mind, that this monster is doing this to her - but she’s still frozen. She can’t shoot -

  
  


“RUBY!!” 

And once again, she was pushed out of the way, just as a giant claw swiped past her, slamming right into the boy’s back, flinging him into the stone wall. 

“NO!!” But she was too late, as he fell limply to the ground, stone settling around him. Ruby whirled around to face the Cerberarn, red boring into her mind, stripping through the layers of her mind like cutting away at rot - 

  
  
  


No.

No, this was dumb.

This was _not_ how Ruby Rose was going to die 

And if it was, she wasn’t going to take this lying down. If the gods saw fit to put her in a coffin, six feet under, then dammit, she was going to be dragged down kicking and screaming into it.

For the first time, Ruby felt the old fire in her activate not out of a protective fear -

-But of _anger_. 

  
  
  


A blinding silver light filled the cavern, flashing through and illuminating the stones. The Cerberarn roared in anger, stumbling back, but another noise stopped Ruby’s silver light as quickly as it came. 

  
  
  


It was the masked boy. 

  
  


He was _screaming_.

  
  
  


It was a horrible sound, really, like the screech of some kind of dying bird. He was writhing on the ground like a wounded animal, black dripping through his mask, hands clawing at the mask on his face.

No - those weren’t hands, Ruby realized in quiet horror.

Those were _claws_. 

  
  


“GO!!” And Ruby once again snaps back to the present. “KILL IT _NOW_!!” Turning, Ruby ran towards the half petrified Grimm, scythe in hand. Already, it was starting to break out of the thin rocky shell she had formed, but that was little help. Ruby zipped behind it, rose petals scattering at her feet, and with one swift motion, severed the Cerberarn’s head from its body, landing on the ground with a tremendous thud. The monster’s roars quickly silenced, claws reaching towards her face dissolving into dust, red eyes glaring at her in one last hateful burst of fear.

  
  


Then, the cave was silent.

  
  


Ruby stood for one second. 

Two seconds.

  
  
  


Then, she dashed over to the masked boy, who was still on the ground, contorted in pain. Ruby looked around frantically, for something, anything she could do to help. “Are you okay?!” She asked, reaching down to help steady his shoulders -

  
  


“Don’t TOUCH ME!!” And Ruby was roughly shoved down, landing on the floor. “DON’T YOU _DARE_ -” But the masked boy’s anger was cut short by his own ragged breathing, that same black oil Ruby thought she had been imagining running down his face, through the slits in his mask. “ _Don’t-_ ” Looking away, the boy tucked his head into a ball, arms shielding himself protectively. 

  
  


It just then occurred to Ruby that he might have looked into the monster’s eyes too. 

  
  
  
  
  


* * *

Neither of them had spoken in hours. Ruby had set up a fire at the spot they had fought, deciding that it just wasn’t worth it to try and get him to move. Instead, she was now sitting against the wall, mind awash in concern and confusion.

Why had her silver eyes hurt him? The last person they had hurt was Cinder, and that was because of her Grimm arm. But he was clawing at his face - could it be that his face was the part that was Grimm? Was that why he wore the mask? 

...What had the Cerberarn shown him?

  
  
  


“...I have some jerky if you want some.” Ruby finally said, voice hoarse from disuse. The masked boy didn’t respond, still not moving from the ball he had curled up in. “It’s a bit dry, but it’s good.”

Still silent.

“...You wanna talk about it?”

Nothing.

“I’m gonna keep talking if that’s okay.”

Face hard as rock.

“I just - that Grimm - I keep thinking about Beacon.” She admitted, knowing she was probably preaching to the choir, but whatever. “I try not to, but… it’s hard.” She inhaled, taking a bit of jerky. “Everything that happened - that I could have done to save people - I just always feel like I’m too late.” Her mind drifted back to Weiss shooting her up Beacon tower, to get to the top only to see Pyrrha -

_Pyrrha._

_Penny._

_Oscar -_

  
  


_But Penny is okay,_ Ruby reminded herself. _And Oscar might be too._

_You failed them,_ the dark voice in the back of her mind said. _You let them down._

  
  


“...I let them down.” Ruby repeats, words spilling out of her like a torrent. Beacon, Haven, Atlas - something was always lost whenever she tried to lead the others. It all just came crashing down on her. “I just feel like such a burden.”

  
  


Still silence. 

  
  


“But you wouldn’t understand.” Ruby laughed, no humor in her voice. “You’re probably just happy that I’m such a failure. Makes your life easier.”

  
  


Ruby rolled over on her side, closing her eyes to sleep. 

  
  
  


“...’Never said that.”

  
  


Ruby opened her eyes. 

  
  


“Huh?” 

  
  


  
“Never said you were a bad leader.” The masked boy mumbled, voice muffled by his mask and jacket. “You seem good to me.”

  
  
  


_You seem good to me_.

  
  


Someone like him shouldn’t be saying those words. 

And yet -

  
  
  


And yet. 

“...Goodnight.” Ruby muttered, exhaustion sweeping over her all at once as she lets a few tears fall.

  
  
  


The masked boy didn't answer.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

Easy.

It was so ridiculously easy, taking his sword off her belt while she was sleeping. 

It was so easy to unsheathe it quietly.

It was so easy to hold it over her thin white throat.

(no it wasn’t, stop lying)

He could do it. Kill her now, like he was supposed to. 

...Quiet.

It’s quiet.

Why is it so quiet?

She should be yelling. Be screaming at him to stop.

(she can’t, she’s asleep)

His hand shakes. Why is he shaking. He’s trembling like this all over.

_“You were always a liar,” Someone said to him a lifetime ago. “You were always going to fail.”_

He’s not. 

He can see her face in the back of his mind. Smiling. Why is she always smiling at him? He doesn’t deserve it.

_Ship doors close on her._

Why did she leave?

Why does he know this girl?

  
  


And Her face.

She smiles at him, black eyes cold. 

  
  


(you look so much like Her)

(you’re just like Her)

(you’re a monster, just do it, just kill her then, just do it)

Anything to get the voice in his head to stop, _anything_ to get her silver smile out of her head,

_“You’re your own person.”_

(no you’re not, that’s not true)

_“We couldn’t have done this without you.”_

(that’s a lie. no one needed him)

_“No more surprises, okay?”_

(there’s a name on the tip of his tongue)

_“James is what my friends call me.”_

(the tip of his sword is at her throat)

_“I’m not leaving you behind!”_

(do it do it do it do it do it do it but She knows you won’t)

  
  
  
  
  


* * *

He doesn’t realize the screaming is coming from him until Ruby shoves him off of her.

  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Why?”

  
  
  


It’s the first word he’s said in a while. Ruby looked up from where she’s sitting, seeing the masked boy hunched over on himself by the wall, the sword he had thrown nowhere in sight.

“Why are you being so nice to me?!”

Ruby doesn’t have any rebuttal to this, so she sits next to him, both of them propped up against the wall. 

“I tried to hurt you - I did -”

“But you didn’t-” Ruby started, before his head whips up.

“ _I COULD HAVE KILLED YOU!!_ ” He screamed, and it echoes off of the stone walls. There’s a brief pause, before his voice cracks, and he says, softer; “I could have killed you.”

He’s right, he could have. Waking up to a screaming boy with a sword over her throat wasn’t a pleasant experience, but what was even more odd was that once she had thrown him off, he chucked his sword away, as if it had burned him. As if he felt …bad. 

“...You didn’t.” Ruby finally said. 

His fists clench in the dirt. “What difference does it make?!” He cries, and there’s definitely a wet quality to his words now. “I could have - I almost - I should have - I - I can’t!” He buried his head in his hands once again, shoulders shaking with sobs Ruby can’t see. It’s alarming, to see a once calm and composed person just… break like this. “I - I just can’t…” 

Ruby wanted to hold him, tell him everything would be okay, just like Yang did for her when Salem told her the truth about her mother. But now? She didn’t know what to do.

  
  


So she just extended a hand, placing it on his shoulder. The masked boy flinched from the sudden contact, looking up towards her. 

“...It’s okay.” Ruby finally said, not sure if it was either. “You’re okay.”

And that’s the final straw, the masked boy finally breaking down, arms clasped around himself as if to shield himself from everything going on his mind. Gingerly, Ruby puts her arms around his shoulders, and he just leans into it, shaking with a soft fragility that felt so alien, yet all too familiar to her, memories of snow and despair rushing back. 

“I’m sorry -” He chokes. “I’m sorry - I just -”

“I know, it’s okay,” Ruby says quietly, lump in her throat. “We’ll figure this out.”

“Why do I remember you?”

That sobbing admission of almost guilt makes Ruby freeze. 

“Why do I - what’s wrong with you?” Black tar mixed with tears fall to the ground. “What’s wrong with me?! _What’s wrong with me?!_ ”

  
  


If Ruby’s crying too, realizing who exactly is sobbing into her arms, there’s no one around to see. 

  
  
  


They stay like that for a long time.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

A soft light stirred Ruby awake, dry eyes opening. Blinking slowly, she felt someone stir beside her. The masked boy slowly sat up, brushing white hair out of his face. They must have fallen asleep like that, Ruby realized, remembering last night, clutching each other as if shielding each other from some kind of invisible storm only they could see.

“Good morning.” He said softly, edges of the broken glass of sleep in his voice.

“Hey.” Ruby replied, managing a weak smile. 

  
  


They both stared at each other for a second, before both of them simultaneously realizing how close they were to each other, and what had happened last night, the two of them scooting away from each other immediately, Ruby nervously laughing a bit. 

“...So.” She started. “...How’d you sleep?”

“...Bad.” The masked boy replied, just as awkwardly. 

“Yeah, same.” A brief pause, before Ruby turned to see the soft light emanating from beyond the tunnel. “Wait - is that -”

“I think it is.” Both of them looked at the exit of the cave that was just a ways ahead of them, Ruby feeling hope and energy flood back into her veins. 

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Ruby asked. 

  
  
  


They dashed down the cave as fast as two injured teenagers could, before coming into a final chamber, exit on top of a small plateau that seemed to have had a minecart lead down it, once upon a time, but was since long broken and rusted. Ruby, maneuvering easily using her Semblence, hopped up the plateau, and to the exit of the cave. She turned back to pull up the masked boy, but not before she saw him walking away. 

“Hey, where are you going?” Ruby asked. 

He turned around, voice uncertain. “...I figured you didn’t need my help anymore.” He replied. 

“You stupid or something, I’m not leaving you down here!” Ruby exclaimed, before extending her hand. “Here. I’ll pull you up.” 

He looked at her hand, then back at her face. 

“Come on!” Ruby said. “After everything, there’s no way I’m giving up on you. Have a bit more faith in me.”

  
  
  


(under the mask, he was smiling, for once)

  
  


And he took her hand, cold and clammy hand against her warm one.

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Ruby blinked a few times before her eyes adjusted to the sun. She hadn’t seen it for how long? A week? A month? A few days? Time was weird like that sometimes.

Then, she realized where she was. 

  
  
  


The ruins of a small city under the plateau they had climbed out of, gray concrete scattered everywhere. The rubble of a mountaintop lay all around them, the peaks above jagged and broken. Beyond them, in the distance, was the tops of a few buildings, including one very familiar looking destroyed tower. 

One Ruby had thought she’d never see again, even as she and her team were headed straight back to it.

“Mountain Glenn.” Ruby breathed. “We were under Mountain Glenn.”

  
  


She knew they had gotten close to Vale when they had crashed - but not this close! Not just over a ridge of mountains!

“That would explain why the dust mine was abandoned.” Ruby murmured, more to herself than anyone else. “After all, everyone evacuated the settlement years ago - maybe they had found the older city but just not said anything -?” 

She stopped, turning, noticing the masked boy walking away.

  
  


“Where are you going?” Ruby asked weakly, already knowing the answer. 

  
  


There was a pause, neither one of them moving.

  
  


“...You knew this wasn’t going to last forever.” He finally said under his breath.

“...It doesn’t have to.” Ruby retorted, taking a step closer. “Come with me.” She pleaded, extending a hand. 

  
  


He stared at it for a second. Two seconds. 

  
  


“You know I can’t do that.” He said quietly after a minute.

“But you can!” Ruby exclaimed. “I - I know you don’t want to do this -”

“What choice do I have?!” The masked boy burst out, shrinking in on himself. “I - I can’t just run, Ruby. I never could, and even if I did, Salem has made it _very_ clear that there’s nowhere I could go where she couldn’t find me. Besides,” He breathed, turning away. “I wouldn’t be able to live with you people anyways. Not like this.”

  
  


_The black claws of Grimm, tearing through his glove_

_The swirls of tar across the back of his neck_

_The strange and unearthly powers he possessed_

  
  
  


Ruby was starting to understand why he was so hesitant.

  
  


Because underneath that mask, was something that Salem had twisted so far, it had broken. 

Underneath the mask, was a boy, now a monster. 

  
  
  
  


“Please.” She pleaded, not sure if she was talking to him or her own guilty conscience. The masked boy turned around again, freezing in his tracks. “I - I’m sorry.”

“...What for?” He asked. 

“...I left you behind.” Ruby finally admitted, and it felt as if a giant ugly insect had wormed its way out of her stomach and through her mouth for all to see. “I didn’t mean to.”

A pause. 

  
  
  


“I just - I _tried_ to open those doors, I really _did_ , I just -” Ruby cried out, not sure if she was trying to assure him or herself. 

“And yet?” 

_And yet._

  
  


It wasn’t a question. It was an admission.

  
  


**_“You left me behind.”_ **

  
  
  
  
  
  


A snap of a strap. 

  
  


His ivory mask fell to the ground, cracks showing in the sunlight. In the morning light, it looked almost ethereal. 

  
  
  


Neither one of them spoke, both of them staring as if they were just seeing each other for the first time.

  
  


_The swirls of black tar covered his face. They covered everything._

_She was right._

  
  
  
  


“...Sorry to disappoint you.” Oscar Pine admitted, red eyes downcast, voice small. 

  
  
  
  


“Bye.”

  
  
  


A simple bye.

  
  
  


As if this wasn’t a death sentence. 

  
  


As if she wasn’t watching him walk to his own death, unable to do anything.

  
  


And yet, there she sat, in the grass, frozen, not a word coming from her mouth. 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


Ruby saw the headlights of the car before she heard it, rushing up to her in the rolling rain. She peeked her head outside of the phonebooth, to see her teammates running towards her at top speed.

“RUBY!!” They all cried out at once. Yang was the first to throw open the phone booth door, giving her a crushing hug, and the rest soon followed. 

It was probably a weird sight for the citizens of Vale to see a bunch of dirty kids giving each other a group hug, but no one said anything. Tragedy had hit this city hard, and the time for judgement was past.

“Hey, kiddo?” Qrow looked at her, concerned. “You okay?”

Ruby sniffed through the waterfall of tears cascading down her face “I just -” But what could she say to them that wouldn’t make them hate Oscar? Hate her? Would she lie? “...I love you guys so much-” She finally managed to warble out. “-I’m so _sorry_ for leaving you behind -” 

“You didn’t leave us, stupid.” Weiss exclaimed, looking mildly choked up too. “You said you’d come back and you did. You always do.”

  
  


_I always come back._

  
  


And she had for him, at the end, hadn’t she? Even if he wasn’t listening anymore.

  
  


“Yeah.” Ruby sniffed. “That’s all that matters.”

  
  


Ruby was nothing if not determined. And while she was sad for letting her friend down, that sadness fueled her determination.

No matter what Oscar said, he was _not_ a monster.

And Ruby would get him back no matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap!
> 
> The next work in this series will probably be a lot lighter to kind of balance this out. I think this is probably as dark as it gets, but I dunno. I have gone on record to say that and then turn around and write more big sad. Stay tuned!
> 
> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


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